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''The Boy's Own Paper'' was a British
story paper A story paper is a periodical publication similar to a literary magazine, but featuring illustrations and text stories, and aimed towards children and teenagers. Also known in Britain as "boys' weeklies", story papers were phenomenally popula ...
aimed at young and
teenage Adolescence () is a transitional stage of human physical and psychological development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood (typically corresponding to the age of majority). Adolescence is usually associated with ...
boys, published from 1879 to 1967.


Publishing history

The idea for the publication was first raised in 1878 by the
Religious Tract Society The Religious Tract Society was a British evangelical Christian organization founded in 1799 and known for publishing a variety of popular religious and quasi-religious texts in the 19th century. The society engaged in charity as well as commerc ...
, as a means to encourage younger children to read and to instill
Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
morals during their formative years. The first issue was published on 18 January 1879. The final issue, a "Special Souvenir Edition, Price 2/-", was dated February 1967 and was published on 27 January 1967. It was a facsimile reprint of the first issue, complete with adverts. It had a panel on the front cover giving a very brief history and stating that it would "appear in future as the BOY'S OWN ANNUAL, edited by Jack Cox". The paper was launched in January 1879 and published weekly until November 1913, when it became monthly. In total, 2451 issues of the paper were published. There was a separate Christmas Number (edition) of the magazine from 1884–85 until 1912–13 (29 in total) and a separate Summer Number from 1884–85 until 1900–01 (17 in total). These were not part of the annual volumes. In many years the issue nearest Christmas was enlarged (as was the price) and billed as a Christmas special. From 1879 each year's issues were bound together and sold as the ''Boy's Own Annual''. Volume 1 finished in September having completed 37 issues, then volume 2 started a cycle in which each volume followed the school year (Autumn through to Summer). In the initial years, readers were invited to purchase covers at the end of the publishing year and have the weekly issues bound. This produced some interesting minor variations in order and contents. The ''Annuals'' included all the text in the weekly (and later monthly) issues, with additional illustrations. For reasons now unknown, volume 54 (1931-32) was limited to ten issues, so volumes 55 to 57 ran from August to July. Volume 58 started in August 1935 with parts 1 and 2, then was re-started at page 1 in October 1935, with another part 1. At the same time, the price was halved from one shilling to sixpence, and the number of pages was reduced from 64 to 48. The earlier parts 1 and 2 were not included in the Annual Volume or its index, leaving two 'orphan' issues. The ''Annuals'' ceased publication after the 1940–41 edition as a result of wartime paper rationing. Later attempts at a smaller format annual, under Jack Cox's editorship, were the ''Boy's Own Companion'' from 1959 through 1963, and the ''Boy's Own Annual II'' from 1964–65 through 1975–76. In 1939, the publication was taken over by Lutterworth Press, and in 1963 by Purnell and Sons Ltd. It was published at the end of its life in 1967 by BPC Publishing Ltd, who are believed to have started publishing the paper in 1965.


Contents

The contents usually included adventure stories and stories about public school life; notes on how to practise nature study, sports and games; instructions for how to make items including canoes; puzzles and essay competitions. One of the stories in the opening issue was "My First Football Match", the first of many by
Talbot Baines Reed Talbot Baines Reed (3 April 1852 – 28 November 1893) was an English writer of boys' fiction who established a genre of school story, school stories that endured into the mid-20th century. Among his best-known work is ''The Fifth Form at S ...
set in public schools (Reed, who had not in fact attended such a school, later became the paper's first assistant
editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, organization, a ...
); and the first volume's serials included "From Powder Monkey to Admiral, or The Stirring Days of the British Navy". In the same volume, Captain Matthew Webb contributed an account of how he swam the
English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...
. In its first decade the paper promoted the
British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...
as the zenith of civilisation and reflected the attitudes towards other races which were taken for granted in Britain at the time. In 1885, for example, it described its vision of "the typical negro": :"The arm is two inches longer in proportion than that of a Caucasian, and the hands hang level with the kneecaps; the facial angle is seventy as against eighty three, the brain weighs thirty five as against forty five; the skull is much thicker ... there is no growth in intelligence once manhood is reached." Readers frequently wrote in with questions to the paper: answers to these letters to the Editor were included in each edition although the original letter was never printed, leaving the reader to guess what the original question might have been. The responses given were often crushingly acerbic and to the point.


Contributors

Many prominent authors and personalities contributed to the paper. W. G. Grace wrote for several issues, as did Sir
Arthur Conan Doyle Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for ''A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Hol ...
,
Jules Verne Jules Gabriel Verne (;''Longman Pronunciation Dictionary''. ; 8 February 1828 – 24 March 1905) was a French novelist, poet and playwright. His collaboration with the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel led to the creation of the ''Voyages extraor ...
and R. M. Ballantyne. Robert Baden-Powell, founder of the
Scout Movement Scouting or the Scout Movement is a youth movement which became popularly established in the first decade of the twentieth century. It follows the Scout method of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activities, including ...
, was a regular columnist and urged readers "to live clean, manly and Christian lives". Less well-known writers included E. E. Bradford, W. E. Cule, Sid G. Hedges, William Gordon Stables and Hugh Pembroke Vowles.
Edward Whymper Edward Whymper FRSE (27 April 184016 September 1911) was an English mountaineer, explorer, illustrator, and author best known for the first ascent of the Matterhorn in 1865. Four members of his climbing party were killed during the descent. W ...
contributed engravings (including the masthead). Gilbert Davey, who went on to publish '' Fun with Radio'' introduced many youngsters to a career in radio and electronics. Between 1941 and 61 there were 60 issues with stories about
Biggles James Charles Bigglesworth, nicknamed "Biggles", is a fictional pilot and adventurer, the Title role#Title character, title character and Protagonist, hero of the ''Biggles'' series of adventure books, written for young readers by W. E. Johns ...
written by
W. E. Johns William Earl Johns (5 February 189321 June 1968) was an English First World War pilot, and writer of adventure stories, usually written under the pen name Capt. W. E. Johns: best known for creating the fictional air-adventurer ''Biggles''. Earl ...
. In the 1960s other occasional contributors included
Isaac Asimov Isaac Asimov ( ;  – April 6, 1992) was an Russian-born American writer and professor of biochemistry at Boston University. During his lifetime, Asimov was considered one of the "Big Three" science fiction writers, along with Robert A. H ...
and the astronomer
Patrick Moore Sir Patrick Alfred Caldwell-Moore (; 4 March 1923 – 9 December 2012) was an English amateur astronomer who attained prominence in that field as a writer, researcher, radio commentator and television presenter. Moore's early interest in astro ...
, who contributed several articles about the
Solar System The Solar SystemCapitalization of the name varies. The International Astronomical Union, the authoritative body regarding astronomical nomenclature, specifies capitalizing the names of all individual astronomical objects but uses mixed "Sola ...
and would answer questions on astronomical matters in the "You Ask Us" section of the paper.


Women and the B.O.P.

From the first, the ''Boy's Own Paper'' had very inclusive editorial policies and practices. Issue No. 1 contained the first instalment of a serial by Mrs Eiloart, and over eighty named female authors followed over the years, contributing short stories, serials, poems, practical articles ('Taming Baboons' for example), and accounts of personal adventures in many different parts of the world. In addition, the work of over twenty female illustrators was published. A number of the monthly coloured plates were by female artists such as Hilda Annetta Walker and Winifred Austen. Girl readers were positively encouraged, and "A.M.S." of Melbourne was told "… you certainly need to make no apology to us for being "only a girl"!". From the beginning girls were eligible to enter the competitions, as witnessed in this slightly rueful editorial comment: "... it was our intention that the word "readers" should be construed in the broadest way, and that all coming within the stipulated age should be eligible, quite irrespective of sex…". This sentiment was being repeated as late as 1930, when the Editor said "Needless to say, in this as in most things connected with the "B.O.P.", the word "boy" includes "girl." There was even an element of positive discrimination, as witnessed by this crushingly acerbic response to "Squirrel": "Don't ask so many questions again, please. Our limit is ''three'' for boys, and ''four'' for girls. But you coolly ask five. Go down below, sir, and have your hair cut!"


Editors

Editors of ''Boy's Own Paper'': * 1879 – 1897: James Macaulay (Supervising editor) * 1879 – 1912: George A. Hutchison (Sub-editor, acting-editor, subsequently editor) * 1912 – 1913: George Andrew Hutchison (Consulting editor, died February 1913) * 1912 – 1924: Arthur Lincoln Haydon * 1924 – 1933: Geoffrey Richard Pocklington * 1933 – 1935: George J. H. Northcroft * 1935 – 1942: Robert Harding * 1942 – 1946: Leonard Halls * 1946 – 1967: Jack Cox


Pricing history

The weekly issue was priced at 1d but the coloured plates had to be purchased separately for 2d per month. However, from March 1879 the B.O.P. was also issued in monthly parts, containing the relevant weekly issues and including the coloured plates, for 6d. The monthly price continued unchanged until mid-1916 when, as a result of war-time inflation, it was increased to 7d. In August 1917 it was further increased to 8d, and during 1918 it was increased to 9d, 10d and then 1/-. That price remained unchanged until October 1935 when, as previously noted, it was halved to 6d. The price was increased to 8d in February 1941, again as a result of wartime inflation. Another increase in November 1941 took it to 9d, and that price was held until October 1950 when it was increased to 1/-. October 1963 saw the final increase to 2/-, which was held until publication ceased in 1967.


Other papers with similar titles

From 1855 through to 1920, there were over a dozen periodicals using the title '' Boy's Own'' or '' Boys' Own''. The first and most influential was Samuel Beeton's weekly ''Boy's Own Magazine'', published from 1855 to 1890. Another was an American publication named ''The Boys' Own'', published by Charles F. Richards in
Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
, Massachusetts from October 1873 through December 1876. The ''Boy's Own Paper'' was also printed in
Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
, Ontario, Canada by the publisher W. Warwick and Sons. These editions were identical to the British editions except for a four-page "cover", dated one month later than the contents, which contained advertisements for Toronto businesses. Examples of these "reprints" have been noted for August 1884 and August 1885.


In contemporary popular culture

In British popular culture, improbable or daring endeavours are often described as "Boy's Own stuff", in reference to the heroic content of the magazine's stories. Alternatively, many associate the magazine with well-intentioned heroes who do not have inhibitions about trying to right wrongs. In the 1989 book '' Great Work of Time'', dealing with an
alternative history Alternate history (also referred to as alternative history, allohistory, althist, or simply A.H.) is a subgenre of speculative fiction in which one or more historical events have occurred but are resolved differently than in actual history. As ...
of the
British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...
, writer John Crowley depicts
Cecil Rhodes Cecil John Rhodes ( ; 5 July 185326 March 1902) was an English-South African mining magnate and politician in southern Africa who served as Prime Minister of the Cape Colony from 1890 to 1896. He and his British South Africa Company founded th ...
as avidly reading ''Boy's Own Magazine'' when he was no longer a boy but at the peak of his empire-building career. The publication is mentioned in the 1997
David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...
song 'Looking for Satellites' on the Earthling album. Bowie himself read it as a child. Former British Prime Minister
David Cameron David William Donald Cameron, Baron Cameron of Chipping Norton (born 9 October 1966) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016. Until 2015, he led the first coalition government in the UK s ...
was described as a "Boy’s Own robot made of ham" in
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
in 2024.


Quotes


Notes


See also

*''
Boys' Life ''Scout Life'' (formerly ''Boys' Life'') is the monthly magazine of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). Its target readers are children between the ages of 6 and 18. The magazine‘s headquarters are in Irving, Texas. ''Scout Life'' is published ...
'' *'' Boys' Own'' *'' Chums'' *'' The Girl's Own Paper''


References

* * *


External links


Digital edition of "The boy's own annual"
1.1879, 2.1879/80 - 45.1922/23

* ttp://www.victorianperiodicals.com/series3/showarticlespecial.asp?id=85474 Waterloo Directory
W.E. Johns in the ''Boy's Own Paper''

The Boy's Own Paper archive at Internet Archive
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boy's Own Paper, The Magazines established in 1879 Magazines disestablished in 1967 British boys' story papers Defunct magazines published in the United Kingdom 1879 establishments in the United Kingdom 1967 disestablishments in the United Kingdom